It felt like Collin Morikawa’s hopes were over when he fell behind three shots to Justin Thomas with only three holes left to play. But one birdie was enough to force the tournament into a playoff. Both finished the day at -19 under for the weekend, with the next closest being -15.
It took an additional three playoff holes, but Morikawa was able to fend off the favorite Justin Thomas. He secured his first win of the year and second of his PGA career of only 24 starts. He might start joining the conversation with Thomas and other young phenoms more often.
The first playoff hole was replaying the 18th, and it was filled with excitement. Thomas drilled a 50-foot birdie that looked as if it could have ended it. But Morikawa stepped up and sank his 25-footer to keep the playoff alive.
The third playoff hole was where Morikawa made his move. Thomas ended up behind a tree and couldn’t save par.
He is only 23 years old and has moved up to #3 in the World Golf Rankings. That is just one spot ahead of Tiger Woods.
“This is a huge kind of stepping-stone,” Morikawa said, via the Associated Press. “We got [win] No. 1 out of the way. We got No. 2. Let the gates just open, and let’s keep going.” Morikawa walked away from this weekend with $1,116,000 in prize money for his efforts.
It was a great finish that would’ve been nice to have fans see! For anyone who didn’t get to watch, Morikawa simply said it was “amazing.”
Tough Day for Thomas
As good as the day was for Morikawa, it was equally bad for Justin Thomas. It appeared he had the tournament in the bag, only to let it slip away. This was a tournament that looked like his for most of the way.
“I never assumed it was over,” Thomas said. “Percentages would say that it heavily is close to being that way. … I just tried to keep my head down and think he’s going to make it, but hoping he’s not, selfishly, but he did.”
But Thomas will have a shot at redemption in a bigger tournament next week at the same course.
“It’s completely unacceptable to give up a 3-shot lead with three to go,” Thomas said. “I’m upset, I’m disappointed in myself. But at the end of the day it’s over with now, and I just need to take some time this afternoon and tonight to build on it and figure out what I can do better going into next week.”
The Memorial
The Memorial Tournament will also be held at Muirfield Village in Ohio. They plan to change up the course a bit, making the greens even faster. Word is the greens will be moving as quickly as those at the U.S. Open.
It will also be nice to have Tiger Woods back finally. He recently announced that he will be playing this weekend in the Memorial. With him joining, it will be a tournament with mostly all of the big names on the Tour.
